Friday night, when the Washington Wizards took on the Denver Nuggets, it represented the first game Young played without his “crutches”, and, on the surface, his performance was nothing special. He wasn’t in the starting lineup, and in the 22 minutes he did play, he scored just scored 12 points. But a closer examination of his play on and off the court revealed a slight change in the third year player.

After a relatively quiet week in college basketball, things will certainly heat up this week. Amongst the must see games are Kentucky-Tennessee, Missouri-Kansas State, BYU-New Mexico and Michigan State-Purdue. Not to mention Saturday’s showdown in the Big East, between No. 7 Villanova and No. 4 Syracuse.

Hoops Addict was able to chat with Damon Stoudamire about what the Raptors franchise has meant to him, his favourite memories of his time in Toronto, any regrets he has about his time here and how he’s finding the transition from playing to coaching.

Al Thornton talked with Hoops Addict about being shocked when he heard he was traded, how a chance of scenery is something he’s looking forward to and what it was like to a big part of Washington’s win over Denver.

Jarrett Jack stepped up tonight with 11 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter then Toronto needed his scoring the most.

After seeing Josh Howard score Washington’s first nine points (while going 3-3 from the field) of the game, Antoine Wright was substituted into the game for his presence on the defensive end. From that point on Josh Howard went 2-14 from the field and struggled mightily to score his remaining eight points.

Before Toronto’s game against Washington, head coach Jay Triano addressed what it was like to scout a team with so many new faces.

In the eighth edition of the Hoops Addict Podcast, Ryan and Rashad analyze the major trades made in the NBA this past week, Rashad shares his experiences covering the All-Star festivities in Dallas last weekend, and announce the winner of the Flip Cam contest.

At 6’7” and 215 pounds, he stands out in China for his frame alone. Joe Ye, an avid basketball player and fan, played in high school at the International School of Beijing with Joe Alexander (the 8th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft). He then used his size and 3-point shooting ability to play a season of college basketball in the U.S. He has lived in both countries, speaks both languages fluently, and now works for the NBA in China. Hoops Addict had a chance to catch up with Joe, who understands the impact of Marbury’s arrival in China perhaps better than anyone.

The first sign that something was definitely about to happen, was when the Wizards finally ran out on the court. Blatche was there, Young and McGee were there, and newly acquired players Josh Howard, Quinton Ross and James Singleton could also be seen making their way on the court. But Jamison was nowhere to be found.